Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!

2011 has been a wonderful year and we thank all our clients who have given us those briefs to let us do what we enjoy most. Thank you. 
We decided to make the festive season a little more interactive when we sent out our unorthodox Christmas card.
Again thanks to all those who sent over your pics to share your Rare Santa pics. Feel free to send your pics if you haven't already.

Success at Print & Design Now!

One of our co-founders has had her work selected for ‘Print & Design Now! 2011’ showing at Bearspace Gallery & SW1 Gallery before touring through to 2012. We have lots of good feedback and thought we would bring a small snippet of her work into our blog. Let us know what you think.

‘Photosynthesis’ Karen Grainger 2011, Limited edition, collaged, hand burned archival giclee prints on Hahnemuhle Photorag Baryta.

See more of Karen's work on her personal website www.karengrainger.co.uk

Wallpaper* Handmade - the launch!

Fedrigoni and Wallpaper* magazine teamed up and gave designers the chance to design their own bespoke front cover to launch the 2011 August issue. Koo was one of the lucky designers asked to submit.

Last night Koo was invited to the launch event held in Fedrigoni's London showroom, where he was delighted to see two of the three covers exhibited. 

"to walk into a room and to see my design on the front cover of Wallpaper* magazine on display is most definitely satisfying."

We are confident and proud to admit we love to see our design work being presented to audiences, doing the job it has been designed to do. After all as designers we should be satisfied with the work we produce while keeping a harmonious union between our clients and us.

Adobe promotional Video Added to Rare Company Website

We have just finished working on a short promotional video created for Adobe's Technical Communication Suite, to promote their products during exhibitions and shows.
http://www.rarecompany.co.uk/recent-adobe-video

One flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

When Alysha was here at Rare Company, we thought it would be a good idea for her to work on a image creation brief for a theatre production to learn and experience the whole process we would normally go through.

We gave her a production show 'One flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'. This brief required Alysha generate an idea, develop and create a face for the show, a brand in its own right to appeal to a broad target audience which needed to work in literature, outdoor advertising and online. 

After drawing, and creating several mock ups, this was Alysha's final image. 

We think she did very well. 

Bye Bye Alysha

Summary from Alysha. We helped her a little by asking her questions. 

How do you think your 4 days at Rare went?

I really enjoyed it. It was really nice being round such creative people in such a creative atmosphere. I feel like I now have a good idea about what the graphic design world is about.

What did you learn in your 4 day work experience?

I learnt that the process of meeting a client's graphical design needs involves many more steps and processes than I originally thought. My eyes were also opened to how important graphic design is in the world; all the way over to the tiniest labels on a bottle. These have been painstakingly been worked on so it performs it's function aesthetically as best it can.

What did you enjoy?

Creating my own image for a brief, even if it wasn't actually for any real purpose, it was a great way to get to grips with the technology and to understand the kind of things you needed to think about when doing such a task. I also enjoyed trying to think out of the box in order to think of products which a client could use to promote their company.

What did you find difficult?

It was difficult using unfamiliar software. I'm definitely going to have to work on that!

Tips and hints for other students looking for work experience

Just keep trying to put yourself out there and eventually someone will offer you something. I'd take it even if it isn't exactly what you want to do because generally you can always gain something useful from it.

Introduction to Alysha Radia.

Alysha is here in our studio this week on work experience. We thought we would introduce her below...

Current Education: 

St Paul's Girls School, London

Where do you think you want to be in 5 years?

I will have almost finished my degree and will be preparing myself for the world of work. I'd love to be in a good position to get a job which is both inspiring and I can excel in.

What would you like to gain from your experience at Rare Company?

I just want a proper insight into the ins and outs of a design company so I can establish what kind of thing I want to do in the future. 

How a brief is processed into a final outcome, both to see how it happens and also to broaden my own creative horizons.

What personal qualities can you give to Rare?

I have quite a broad range of abilities and most of all I am passionate about creativity and the visual aims.

In terms of advertising which part of the business do yourself working within and why?

I'd probably work in any of the sectors because they all come across as engaging and suited to me.

How do you feel about branding and how do you feel it effects / role it plays in life?

Branding is really important in making a company be exactly what it wants to be, not just on what it offers but as a reflection of a character of the company and the people involved. The visual identity generally plays a huge part in life - often we do judge a book by its cover so why not make that cover the best it can be?

Sheffield Theaters exciting new season is launched

We are thrilled Sheffield Theatre has unveiled its exciting new season celebrating the Crucible Theatre's 40th Birthday. We enjoyed working on the images and creating  the crucible 40th anniversary mark.
Have a look and book online http://www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk/ or alternatively see some of the work we produced for Sheffield on our recently updated website http://www.rarecompany.co.uk/.